The poverty of current affairs TV

By Ian Robinson

In 1978, a Californian advertising executive with the evocative name of Jerry Mander published a book entitled Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television. As the saying goes: “Good luck with that!”

Mander in effect argued that, because television revolved around moving images rather than concepts, it could never deal meaningfully with ideas. The predominantly visual nature of the medium prevented it from dealing seriously with the human condition and presenting intellectual debates in a significant way. According to Mander, the very nature of the medium itself made this impossible.

Unsurprisingly, nearly 50 years later, the titular aim of Mander’s book has not been realised.

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